ATP News : 2006


Bryans Face Bjorkman/Mirnyi in 1 vs 2 Final

Bob and Mike Bryan, leaders of the Stanford ATP Doubles Race, will take on defending champions Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi in a repeat of last year’s Roland Garros final


The 28-year-old twins reached their sixth consecutive Grand Slam final, breaking the Open Era record set by Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde in 1996-97, with a 6-3, 7-6(6) victory over No. 15 seeds Andrei Pavel and Alexander Waske on Thursday.

The Bryans won their first Grand Slam title in Paris in 2003 and last year finished runners-up to Bjorkman/Mirnyi, who on Thursday defeated Czech No. 13 seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner 6-3, 6-3.

Bjorkman and Mirnyi beat the Bryan brothers 6-4, 6-4 in their only meeting this season, at the NASDAQ-100 Open final in Miami.

Should the Bryan brothers avenge last year's loss in the Roland Garros final, the reigning US and Australian Open champions will tie Woodbridge and Woodforde’s Open Era record of three straight Grand Slam victories in 1996-97 (1996-Wimbledon, US Open, 1997-Australian Open).

Frank Sedgman set the all-time record for consecutive major final appearances, between 1950 and 1952. The Australian won eight out of nine major doubles championships with two different partners.

Sedgman partnered John Bromwich to the 1950 US title then paired with Ken McGregor to win the 1951 ‘Grand Slam’. They almost replicated the feat in 1952, but their record run came to an end in the US final. Mervyn Rose and Vic Seixas won 3-6, 10-8, 10-8, 6-8, 8-6.

The Bryans currently own a 32-9 record and are the No. 1 team in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race. They took home titles at the Australian Open and Las Vegas. They have also reached the finals of four tournaments including back-to-back appearances in Masters Series events at Indian Wells and Miami.

2005 Roland Garros champions Bjorkman/Mirnyi are ranked third in the Stanford ATP Doubles Race behind the Bryans and Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor. The team has won four titles this season, taking consecutive Masters series titles in Miami and Monte-Carlo and is looking to avenge a loss to the Bryans in the final of the US Open last year.




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